Into the Danger Zone by Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters Page A

were going to get together, but then my family moved again, to this town. I haven’t heard from him lately. Guess he’s been busy with his mom’s wedding and the new stepdad and all.”
    “Is he into extreme?” Jonas wanted to know. “Way into it. In fact, he and his dad taught me a lot about boarding, like riding the rails and stuff.” He zigzagged onto the road, then jumped his board back up to the sidewalk. “That’s why I wish the skatepark was going to be open when he’s here. He’d love it. Think Alison would let us in, just for a day?”
    “Doubt it,” came X’s immediate reply. “She told me the equipment has to be checked out first. She was worried the half-pipe might have been damaged over the winter or something.”
    Charlie was disappointed, but he understood. Alison had to make sure the park was safe, after all. If she didn’t, and someone got hurt, she’d be in major trouble.
    The boys boarded in silence for a while, popping wheelies and ollies and practicing their kick flips. They were so intent on what they were doing, they didn’t notice that dark clouds had rolled in and the temperature had dropped. Only when Jonas’s teeth started chattering did they realize it was about to snow.

    “C’mon, my house is right around the corner!” Jonas cried as the first flakes fell. Laughing, the three boys picked up their boards and ran as fast as they could to the Malloys’.
    “Dad!” Jonas bellowed as he burst through the kitchen door. “Rocket Robert is coming to town! Can we get tickets? If we can, I promise I’ll shovel the driveway and the sidewalk and —”
    Mr. Malloy emerged from his office. He worked at home, creating and designing video games. Charlie and his friends thought it was the coolest job ever.
    “I’m one step ahead of you,” Mr. Malloy said. He dug a hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out an envelope. Inside were twelve tickets to the Rocket Robert show. He handed X and Charlie two tickets each. “One for you, and one for one of your parents,” he explained. “Your folks can fight over which parent gets to go. I’ll give the other tickets to Bizz, Mark, and Savannah later today.”
    X and Jonas whooped. “Thanks, Dad!” Jonas cried. Mr. Malloy smiled. “You can still do the shoveling, though,” he said to Jonas as he disappeared back into his office.
    Charlie stared at the tickets in his hand and sighed. “I sure hope I get to use these,” he said.
    During dinner that night, Charlie’s mother turned to him and said, “Oh, by the way, Jonas’s father called earlier to make sure it was okay to buy us tickets for the Rocket Robert show. Sounds like fun to me.”
    “Um, but Mom, what about Pat?” Charlie said. To his relief, she started laughing. “Well, for heaven’s sake, he can use my ticket! I’m sure Mr. Malloy or one of the other parents won’t mind looking out for you boys that night. Your father and I will have a nice visit with Pat’s folks instead.”
    “Hold on a second.” Mr. Abbott was frowning. “You seem to be forgetting something, my dear.”
    Charlie held his breath.
    “That ticket was supposed to go to you
or
to me,” Mr. Abbott continued solemnly. “What makes you so sure
I
don’t want to use it to see Rocket Robert?”

CHAPTER THREE
    It took Charlie a split second to realize that his father was joking. His mother threw a balled-up napkin at her husband and the three of them started laughing.
    “Had you going there for a moment, didn’t I?” his father chortled.
    Just then, the phone rang. Mrs. Abbott excused herself and answered it. She spoke to the caller for a few minutes, then hung up and returned to the table.
    “That was Pat’s mother. She wanted to know if she should bring his skateboard, his snowboard, his inline skates, or all three. I told her just the snow-board since it’s snowing again. That okay, Charlie?”
    He nodded. “If it sticks to the ground, the slope should be good for boarding.”
    He hoped it